4/28/2013

Baseball!

When your work says that you can flash your badge at TD Ameritrade Park and go watch the Creighton Baseball game for free, you go. It was cold for late April but we bundled up and headed to the park. I'd never been to the new ballpark before and it's beautiful. Payton's main goal was to eat a hot dog. Parker's main goal was to watch the baseball guys.




In a couple weeks we will be going to another baseball game with our friends from respite care. So excited!


And....watch this video. It's amazing. For every mom who's had a struggle with their little one. It's worth the watch.

4/20/2013

Prom!

Yep, you read that right. Prom. Or Spring Formal. Every year at my work, they throw a formal dance. The past couple years they've done it in the middle of winter and we haven't been able to go because we've always been on lockdown. This year they moved it to April so the twins got to share in the party. I've heard nothing but how cute they were, and overall they were very well behaved so I'll say we passed. :)

While it is a formal dance and everyone gets dressed up, it is meant to be fun. All the nursing home residents we can convince to come down and all the rehab patients we can convince come too. There's a band, special treats, bartenders, decorations, lights, and a crowd. I love that the twins aren't afraid of any of the residents, wheelchairs, equipment or anything else they see.

I picked them up from school and we took dinner there and they had a picnic of McDonalds on the floor. Then we got ready for the party. My favorite stories from the night -

Parker took his big stuffed duck he got from the Easter Bunny with him. As we were making a pit stop before the dance, a group of ladies were in the hall and talking about the duck with him. He let one lady, Jean, pet the duck and they talked about if it had a name and where it came from. When she asked his name and how old he was, he told her easily. When one of the other ladies, a nun in full habit who was sitting in a wheelchair asked if she could see his duck he said "yeah!" and hurled it 6 feet to her and nailed her square in the chest with it. She just laughed but I was momentarily mortified. And of course no one was around to see it. Her response was "he is such a blessed child".

Payton and I danced a lot. A LOT. We danced with a resident who is there for rehab and has been a challenge for our building, since he has some complex injuries. He doesn't talk much and saves his words and smiles for special times. I'm not sure it was his first choice to come but the nurses got him to come to the dance. Holding Payton, I walked over and asked Jose to dance. He let me hold his hand and dance a full song. He let Payton hold his other hand for a little bit. When the song was over, he and Payton did a high five and he had the biggest smile on his face I've ever seen. Payton and I also danced with another challenging resident. At the end of that song she gave him a fist bump and proceeded to have a conversation with him for a minute.

And Parker had a major milestone at the dance. He let my friend Beth take him away from me half way across the room and dance. No tantrum, Beth didn't get headbutted, nothing. He even smiled a little. Since there are about 5  people including me he has ever done that with, this was HUGE.

Big night all around. A little social therapy for them, a little twin therapy for a whole lot of people ;)

An adorable prom date...
And this is what prom hangover looks like...


4/16/2013

All things CRCC

By now I'm pretty sure everyone knows I love respite care. We had another chance to try something new with them and it was awesome. We had a Saturday evening to take over the Kroc Center in South Omaha. I'd never been there before but it is an amazing place. We had dinner then had free run of the gym for just the respite families. Parker played basketball for over an hour. For being such a runt, the little man can really dribble a full size ball. They were both beyond thrilled their best friend Elaina was there. Payton and her spent a good chunk of time running around the gym, pretending to be turtles and whatever else 3 year old girls do when they're not into playing ball. We will definitely be checking out some other stuff at the Kroc Center.









CRCC has two sites in town. The beautiful building the twins go to, and another in the southwest part of the city. They had a groundbreaking last week. Read this article about two of the kids CRCC serves and what great thing they did to help get the new building.





Omaha Gives is coming....a 24 hour period to raise money and awareness for nonprofits. Children's Respite Care Center is one of the nonprofits. It is going to be huge. The chance for matching funds, participation prizes and special hourly bonuses for the nonprofits. Please click the link to check out the site, pass it on and login May 22nd and consider donating. And click the link now to check it out in advance so you'll be in the know in advance. Pretty please.



4/13/2013

Catching Up

So there's a few random things to keep you in the loop on, and then I promise some twin cuteness.

MARCH FOR BABIES...
We are marching in 2 weeks! If you'd like to donate to Team Awesome Twosome click here. We're marching for these little monkeys who came so fast and too soon and to try to help all babies have a healthy start.
One Week Old...

3.5 years later...


I read the blog on Runner's World called Mile Markers religiously. It's written by Kristen Armstrong and I am compeltely convinced I want to be her when I grow up. Her post this week quoted a story heard at a fundraiser for a special school. Perfection. So fitting for so many reasons. Hoping you'll take a minute to read, an maybe click the link above and check her out. 

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by
 Emily Perl Kingsley.
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.


 We stopped at the playground last week to burn off some energy and enjoy a little of the spring we've managed to have. I promise the giggles as the keep falling down are worth it. 



4/01/2013

The bunny was here

The Easter bunny that is. The weekend was good, busy, windy and warm full of good food and some good company.

We started the morning by checking the pots on the front porch where we planted our jelly beans the night before. And what do you know...we got big suckers over night ;)
 


Since I knew there would be alot going on for Easter itself, the Easter bunny just left one thing at home for the kiddos...tee ball gloves. Parker's is green (which he loves) and Payton's is pink and has Hello Kitty on it which she is very proud to show off. 

 
 

We spent lunch time at great grandma Forsythe's with alot of cousins. They're finally comfortable enough, and the girls are so good with them, to be out running around in the yard as just one of the kids. They got their first chances to swing at a pinata and to do an egg hunt in the back yard.

Payton took the opportunity for a cat nap on the way home to be ready for the evening.

They tore into some more special presents when we got home. I'm pretty sure there is still Easter grass in some places around here.
 


Then we headed out to the porch to blow bubbles and soak up some sun.


We spent the evening eating, laughing, and catching some basketball with Bo and Dave, Dave's parents Gary and Donna, and big bro CJ. It was a good day, but this morning was not easy. Note to self...maybe next year we take the day off to recoup at home. Whew!